News

Volume 6 Issue 6 - September 01, 2009

A.T.M.s for visually impaired showcased at X.R.C.V.C.

D.N.I.S. News Network, India: Xavier’s Resource Centre for the Visually Challenged (X.R.C.V.C.), a support and advocacy unit, in collaboration with 2 of the world’s largest manufacturers of A.T.M.s, Diebold Systems and N.C.R. Corporation unveiled A.T.M. machines designed for visually impaired people in Mumbai.

The machine has voice support and guides to menu items, voice outputs for transactions, personalized headphone jack with voice control features, tactile cues for buttons, large display for users with low vision, Braille enabled function keys and guide labels for other functionalities including card reader, receipt, cash dispenser, depositor, bunch cash presenter for ease in collecting cash.

The A.T.M.s, which are yet to be deployed, have been developed in consultation with banks and X.R.C.V.C.

Sharing his views, Dr. Sam Taraporevala, Director X.R.C.V.C. said, “It is a well known fact that A.T.M.s today have increased the convenience in banking. To make banking simple for disabled people, A.T.M.s will need to scale to meet accessibility standards. The A.T.M. industry, as well as banking industry all over the world, has made accessibility an inherent part of its production and deployment. It is time that the international leading players extend their experience to meet Indian needs.”

The Reserve Bank of India through its circular in April 2009 directed that one - third of all A.T.M.s will have to be accessible to people with disability. This initiative, feels Dr. Taraporevala, will go a long way in making the Indian banking industry disabled friendly.

“We have been getting a lot of feedback from users about the machines that we have installed. We are also in the process of talking to 2 other A.T.M. manufacturers about the design aspect of disabled friendly A.T.M. machines,” he added.